TellTale Heart
by Lobsters forever
Summary: Post Film. Arthur finds Cobb a date for Valentine's Day but while on his date, he realizes, that she's not the one he is interested in. Cobb/Ariadne Rated Mature just in case. One- shot. Please Review!


_Authors Note:_

_So, this is a story that came from a few prompts, all mixed together. _

_I hope that you all enjoy this. _

_I had fun writing it. _

_Please Review!_

**Tell-Tale Heart**

If he had to be completely, undeniably, and one hundred percent honest, Dom Cobb did not know what the fuck he was doing sitting on that mahogany wooden chair in the middle of a damn _French_ restaurant (of all places).

x

"_She's blonde-" Arthur had started._

"I hate blondes-" was the answer Cobb came back with.

_ Eames had scoffed at that "No real man hates blondes, Cobb." _

"_Well, I do-" he had snapped, turning back to look at Ariadne "Could you pass me those papers, please?" She nodded, tossing him the sketches with ease while she crouched herself over the wooden desk. _

"_Anyway-" Arthur commenced once again, smirking "She's well spoken, beautiful and just finished her Masters in English Literature." _

_Cobb sighed, bowing his head down and trying to concentrate on the drawings in front of him. Eames almost laughed "She sounds just bloody wonderful and oh-" he paused, raising his eyebrows "so dull. She's perfect for you, Cobb." _

_Cobb glared at Eames from the side of his blue pupils, but moments later turned back toward the second dream layer outline, where Ariadne was re-touching some of Dom's 'so-called mistakes'. "Hey-" he whined, sounding like a stubborn five year old boy instead of a thirty five year old man "What's wrong with the ark?" _

_ Ariadne eyed him carefully and teased, "Cobb, everything is wrong with it." _

"_Do you honestly want to be alone, again, on Valentines Day?" Arthur asked, fiddling with a few of the wires on the PASIC device. _

_Cobb shrugged his shoulders and Ariadne's voice shattered the silence with her shrieking "Hey! What's wrong with being alone on Valentine's Day?" _

_Eames chuckled shortly, his eyes dilating as he muttered "Absolutely nothing, love. I plan to be alone by the end of the night anyway." _

_ "You have five dates for that night lined up, liar." Arthur rolled his eyes. _

"_That doesn't mean that I won't be alone by the end of the night, though." Eames sighed out, his voice lifting as he said with a leer and a grin "I like to send them off like-" he thought for a second and continued "like e-mails." _

_Cobb groaned, his voice low as he asked slowly "Could you two please get back to work?" He turned his attention to a giggling Ariadne and he could not help but grin back while saying "They're worse than my kids." _

_She nodded, erasing a staircase with her rubber while commenting with a laugh "James and Phillipa are angels compared to them." _

"_Yeah-" _

"_Cobb! Yes or no?" Arthur asked loudly, his irritation clearly slowing within his eyes. _

_Dom shook his head "No, I'm not interested." _

"_Why? What's wrong with her?" _

"_Nothing, Arthur I just don't feel-"_

"_It's been three years, Dom. Take a leap of faith." Arthur ushered, his tone firm. _

_Cobb growled, turning back towards the sketch and saying "Fine. Only if you get back to work though-" he halted, his eyes widening as he realized that Ariadne had completely changed the blueprint "Hey! It's not even recognizable anymore." _

_She smiled, biting down on her bottom lip as she replied, "Yeah, I think its better this way." _

x

"You must be Domenic?" The woman asked, stepping forward to shake his hand.

He nodded once, shaking her hand back lightly as he spoke "And you must be Claudia." She nodded in reply as well, sitting down as the waiter held the chair out for her. She thanked him seconds later, placing her black purse down below her black-heeled shoes.

The woman resembled a young Michelle Pfeiffer and she looked as promised: Blonde and well spoken.

"So, how do you know Arthur?" She inquired; Dom thankful that she had made the attempt to ask the icebreaker.

Cobb held himself upright in his chair, his hands on one of the knees of his black dress pants as he replied, some-what honestly "We worked together on a project a few years ago and we've been friends ever since." He took a short breath; he had gotten through the first sentence without making a fool out of himself. "And how did you two meet?"

She smiled and told him how they had met at the Library and had went on one date but then it did not work out between them. "And so, we've been just friends ever since." She paused, looking around at the full restaurant and commenting "I'm sorry-" she laughed nervously, and pointing up at the streamers and heart balloons that decorated the entire dining area "Am I the only one who thinks that they went a little overboard on the decorations?"

"No," Cobb shook his head, smirking; maybe this wouldn't be so bad "I was completely thrown off by them too."

Claudia sighed from relief, tilting her head towards the side as she spoke "Thank God. I thought I was crazy."

He chuckled at her joke, opening up his Drink Menu and looking straight at the Wine Lists. "Would you like something to drink?"

x

"James, don't touch that!" Ariadne shouted lightly, holding Phillpa on her lap as she continued "That's Daddy's and you know he doesn't like it when you touch his things." She smiled at him moments later, making sure he knew that she was not angry with him.

He ran over to the kitchen table, pouting as he whispered "I'm sorry, Aria."

She giggled, pulling him into a snug embrace with her only bare arm while saying, "Don't apologize, honey. It's just that-" she stopped, grinning at him while saying "Imagine if I touched your Nascars-"

James gasped dramatically, his mouth in a large 'o' as he said, "Okay, I won't touch the pretty pictures again."

"Good boy." She ran a few fingers through his blond hair and then turned her attention back to the painting Phillipa was creating. "That's beautiful." Ariadne grinned at the young girl, her thoughts trying to remain on the fact that she was babysitting tonight and that she didn't have a date for St. Valentines Day.

For God sakes, even Cobb found himself a date. Why couldn't she?

x

"I'm more of a 'Poe' enthusiast, myself." Cobb commented, cutting a piece of his steak with his dining utensils.

"Oh no-" She shook her head but beamed kindly "Shakespeare's writing is truly masterful." She paused to take a sip of her red wine while explaining, "'Tell-Tale Heart' cannot hold a candle to 'Hamlet'."

Cobb swallowed down his piece of steak as he disagreed, "They are completely differently styles, Claudia. It's like comparing horses and oranges. They are both masterpieces by there own free will. Infact-" he held onto the stem of his glass before pulling it towards his lips and saying "I have a friend who told me once that reading 'Tell-Tale Heart' haunted her for weeks after she finished it. Take 'Romeo and Juliet' for instance, someone can be affected by the emotional story telling of it all, but it just seems a little far-fetched for anyone to be truly engulfed into the material."

"Who's this friend of yours?" Claudia asked, placing her wine glass down onto the table in front of her, a sour grin on her mouth.

Dom gulped down his cabernet and answered her question truthfully "Her name is Ariadne. She works with me on the side of her schooling."

"What does she study?"

"Architecture at UCLA." It was true and he was happy that she had made the transfer a few months before.

"Well then," Claudia laughed softly "She has no expertise on the subject."

Cobb held his tongue, his mouth unconsciously muttering, "No, I guess not." He took a second to ponder upon his children and how Ariadne had selflessly asked to look after them tonight. He suddenly felt the urge to call her and ask how they were. But he shrugged it away and whispered "She's wonderful though."

"Yeah?"

"If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here tonight." He continued on, looking down at the vegetables on his plate and contemplating on all the literal meanings of his words. "She's babysitting my children."

Claudia nodded "Yes, Arthur was telling me you have children. How old are they?"

Dom looked up from his plate and answered, a wide smile plastered on his mouth "Phillipa is 7 and James is 5."

"Those are really lovely ages." Claudia cooed, her voice rising as she muttered in sympathy "It must get really hard for you though. They must be hard to handle all on your own."

He shrugged his shoulders once, cutting another piece of his dish while he replied "No, not really." He inhaled and continued "Ariadne helps me whenever she can and I'm extremely lucky since she's very generous with her time."

Claudia's eyebrows rose as she said, "I see."

"Yeah-" he finishes chewing on his piece of steak and says, "I don't know what I'd do without her."

Claudia laughed shortly, flipping her hair behind her shoulder and saying "And she's all alone right now, with your children?" The way the woman had asked the question made Cobb's throat fill with guilt. Perhaps it was rather ignorant of him to go out and leave her all alone with them. "You must really have a hell of a lot of faith in her."

"I do." He nods moments later, whispering after wiping the corners of his mouth with a serviette "I trust her with my life." And he did; he could trust her with anything.

Claudia wrinkled her nose and crossed her arms across her chest while saying "And why is that?"

"I think that's a little too personal." Cobb spoke bluntly.

"I'm sorry. _You_ brought her into the conversation." Claudia sighed, taking a sip from her glass of wine while saying under her breath "A little too much if you ask me."

"Pardon?" Dom asked, his eyebrows knitting as he waited patiently for her to explain herself.

The blonde laughed, her mascara covered eyelashes fluttering as she said "It's obvious that you would much rather be sitting here, with her, than with me."

"Excuse me?" Cobb scoffed "You have known me for, what, an hour and you think that gives you the right to make suggestions about my personal life?"

Claudia shook her head, almost apologetically and she said "No, Domenic. It's just that-"

"What?" He was pale faced, stricken and impatient.  
"Maybe you'd be much happier spending Valentines Day with her, than with me."

Cobb sat there dumbfounded for a strict second before picking up the napkin off his thighs and saying "Perhaps you're right." He ran a quick hand through his hair before pulling out two one hundred dollar bills from his wallet and saying "I'm sorry, Claudia. But I think we have to cut this night short. My children are waiting-"

"And so is their babysitter." Claudia spoke with a smirk on her lips as Dom walked away from the table. He almost stopped at the accusation but decided that the woman was not worth it. So what if he had wanted to talk about one of his closest friends and work colleagues? The act was not a crime.

x

"I'm home!" Cobb called out, flinging his keys on one of the cabinets near his wide range hallway. When no one responded, he removed his shoes and eyed the living room quietly. Perhaps, his children were asleep.

Ariadne was sitting on the living room couch, a finger pressed to her lips to shush him. His pupils examined the scene in front of him with awe: James was sleeping on one side of her and Phillipa's head was on her lap. "Do you think you could help me?" She whispered so softly it was almost all mouthed.

He nodded, taking off his black blazer moving towards Phillipa and picking her up into his arms. "Thank you." He spoke to her softly, her eyes catching his as she picked his daughter into her arms.

She smiled at him in response as Phillipa gently awakened and moaned lightly. Ariadne hushed her and traced lines on her forehead "No, honey. Go back to sleep. Everything is alright."

"Is Daddy home?"

"Yes, sweetheart." Dom muttered as the two carried the children up the stairs and towards their bedrooms.

"Okay." The little girl spoke, half asleep.

Ariadne bent her lips towards the girl's forehead and kissed her "Shh. Go to sleep."

Cobb watched the gesture, his face frozen as he realized that maybe, just maybe, the woman from the restaurant was right.

x

Ariadne sighed, her hands crawling onto her book bag while saying "So, how was the date?"

Dom smirked, his attention turning towards the closet in order to take out her jacket. "It was _interesting_." He held the jacket in his hands before asking "Are you sure you can't stay and watch some sappy old movie with me?"

She chuckled at that and replied "I wish I could but it's late and I have school tomorrow."

"That's right." Cobb nodded, holding the white jacket open for her so that she could slide her arms into its sleeves. "School is to blame."

Ariadne smiled, shaking her head as she accepted his gesture "Actually, the calendar is to blame. Can you believe that St. Valentine is on a Monday this year?" She looked down at her watch and laughed while saying "Well-_was_ anyway. Shit, it's going to be 1 am by the time I get to Arthur's apartment."

"You could stay here for the night, if you want." Dom stated, his voice calm and collective even though his insides were on high alert. He could not believe he was asking her that. She was _Ariadne_: his work colleague, his friend, his architect and yet, those words did not balance upon her correctly. She was more than that to him and the realization scared him to pieces.

"Okay." She shrugged, throwing down her book bag and removing her jacket from her body. That, however, unnerved Cobb wild beyond imagination.

x

"Good looking?" Ariadne asked.

"Somewhat."

"Intelligent?"

"Somewhat."

"Interesting?"

"Somewhat."

"Well, was there _anything_ great about her?" She asked him, sitting on the carpeted basement floor beside a bunch of boxes, wooden tables, paintings and an old conservative piano.

She played with the wine glass in her hands, mixing it in a circular motion as she waited for him to answer the question. "Nope."

"And why's that?" She asked, her eyebrows rising upward.

Cobb smiled, pointing to one of the boxes behind Ariadne's head "There's a certain book in there, by a certain poet that she despises that I happen to adore."

Ariadne gasped, honestly shocked as asked, "She hates 'Poe'?"

"Yup."

"But- how can one even have the audacity to hate his work? The man is a genius!"

Cobb nodded, finishing the last of his white wine before saying "I know. Well, everyone has their own style, I guess."

"I know, Cobb. But 'Poe'? How could you not love his vile elements and, the 'Tell-tale Heart' Cobb! How could you hate it?"

Dom chuckled at her, straightening his back out against the back of the piano, his head suddenly hitting the spine of the instrument. "Fuck-" he muttered, rubbing the back of his head, laughing as Ariadne seemed to be doing too "Shit, that hurt."

"Why do you even have that anyway?" She placed her glass down, standing up and moving towards the white piano whose keys were filled with dust particles.

Dom stood up as well, seconds later, and blew on top of the keys, dust flying everywhere while answering the question "I used to play."

"When? In 1847?" She teased him, as his fingers hit the 'A' key.

He smiled but then ignored the comment, turning towards the edge of the room to grab one of the bigger boxes and pushing it in front of the piano "Here. I'll show you."

"Really?" She grinned largely, standing right next to him and asking, "What can you play? Mozart? Bach?"

"How about some 'Coldplay?" He chuckled shortly "I'm not all that great, Ariadne."

"I'll be the judge of that."

He shrugged, sighing out "Okay. Here goes nothing." He tapped the keys, Araidne's ears immediately picking up that it was the song called 'Clocks.'

She watched his hands for the first minute, observing how beautiful his fingers slid over the dusted keys. But during the second minute, she could not help but watch him and how beautiful he looked while playing. She had always found him to be an attractive man but there was something about how he rolled his fingers over the keys that made her blush profusely.

When he finished, he looked directly at her. He smiled when she shifted her back onto the piano as he asked her "Any good?"

She nodded slowly, smiling and almost turning red as she whispered, "It was beautiful."

He let out a soft grin and eyed her curiously as she stared down at him. "Thank you for _everything_, Ariadne."

She wanted to laugh but he took her petite hands into his and held them as he continued "I have no idea where'd I be if Miles hadn't introduced you to me." He paused and gently stood up in front of her, whispering, "I wouldn't be here with my children, or you- and I need you to know that I will be, forever, thankful that you are in my life."

She looked at him curiously as she muttered, her eyes glowing "Your welcome, Cobb."

He half-smiled, staring into her brown eyes once before saying "Goodnight, Ariadne." He leaned himself over to kiss her cheek but she moved swiftly, her lips catching his in a tight grip.

He let his tongue perch at the opening of her mouth for just a raw moment as he asked her for entrance. She anxiously greeted him, her lips opening to flick at the subtle outsides of his tongue and mouth before pulling away from him long enough to have him throw her roughly against the edges of the piano.

He kissed her this time, his lips bruising hers as his front bucked against hers. She let her hands roll on top of his dress shirt and down towards the edges of his waistband. Her hands folded themselves downward and onto his growing erection. He made a muffled sound as he let his own hands travel upward to remove her cardigan and blouse.

She rubbed him over his trousers, her hand engulfing around his mast as she tried to use her other hand to unzip his pants. Once the task was complete, she pulled on his boxers and let out a moan as he palmed her breasts with his hands; piano keys being struck in the background.

"Take me." She muttered against his ear, as they breathed together.

He nodded slowly, his arms lifting her up onto the piano so that she could lay back onto it. He unzipped her jeans and pulled them off slowly, before teasing the outside boundaries of her panties with his lips and tongue.

Once he slipped them off, he slowly slid into her and she arched her back, moaning in pleasure as the piano began to play notes that matched their movements.

This was sure to be a Valentines Day that neither one of them would forget.

x

"So, did you two hit it off?" Arthur asked the next morning, as Cobb was looking through a box of old books that would be needed in the next mission.

He cleared his throat and thought about the night before, images of Ariadne, himself and a piano entering his mind. "Claudia and I? No."

"Really?" Arthur asked, almost in a sigh while saying "I really thought you two would hit if off."

"I don't think I'm looking for anything right now." He shrugged his shoulders at his Point Man, looking over at the clock in the warehouse to see if it was 2 pm yet. He held in a smile as the clock read 1:57.

Arthur shrugged, nodding once before saying "Well, at least you gave it a try Cobb." A few moments later, Arthur turned to him and asked "Did Ariadne stay at your place last night? She didn't come home-"

"Yes, she did. She said she was tired." He suddenly began to smile, a book falling into his hands "Finally."

Arthur's eyebrows scrunched upward as he read the title of the novel "'The best of Edgar Allen Poe'? What's that for?"

"I feel like reading some of it."

"Don't read 'Tell-Tale Heart'. Ariadne had nightmares about it for weeks." Arthur commented, moving one of the lawn chairs towards the center of the PASIV device that was resting on a table.

"I'm sure I can handle it." He smiled, watching as Ariadne walked into the room. No, he was sure he could handle it.

"Good morning, boys." She greeted, removing her red jacket from her shoulders and her scarf.

She was holding a blue print in her hands and as she moved towards Dom she said, "Cobb, I was thinking-" she paused, holding out the sketch in front of him while saying "We're in a jazz bar in the second dream level, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, perhaps we should add a piano?" She smirked at him, her eyebrows rising upward playfully.

He cleared his throat seconds later and said firmly "Yes, perhaps we could find a use for it."

_Authors Note:_

_I have seen 'Pretty Woman' way too many times! That piano scene, woah. _

_Anyway, thank you for reading!_

_Please Review!_


End file.
